Once again, the CDC issued an eviction moratorium as COVID-19 Delta Variant cases are increasing across the country. The moratorium is meant to help those who struggle to pay their rent due to COVID-19.
Idaho did not really see a change as 15 to 20 evictions were still happening each week during the first moratorium. This new moratorium could help Idaho renters - but make things more difficult for landlords.
“We’re not really solving a problem by the moratorium, we’re buying some time,” Boise City Ada County Housing Authority Executive Director Deanna Watson said.
The CDC signed another moratorium determining that evictions of tenants for late or no rental payments could be detrimental to slowing the spread of SARS-COV2 - or COVID-19.
"The emergence of the delta variant has led to a rapid acceleration of community transmission in the United States, putting more Americans at increased risk, especially if they are unvaccinated. This moratorium is the right thing to do to keep people in their homes and out of congregate settings where COVID-19 spreads. It is imperative that public health authorities act quickly to mitigate such an increase of evictions, which could increase the likelihood of new spikes in SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Such mass evictions and the attendant public health consequences would be very difficult to reverse," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.
While beneficial to renters, for the time being, landlords could suffer.
“The difficulty part I think is for landlords who need to be able to collect rent. This is their source of income for paying for their own lives and they need to be able to access that,” Watson said.
The moratorium allows time for tenants to take advantage of rent relief.
“For tenants, they are not escaping the need to pay for that rent, it's piling up and waiting for whatever moratorium is in existence to end, and then all of that money is owed,” Watson said. “Here locally, the emergency rental assistance program is a way to keep pants from falling so far behind that they will never be able to catch up.”
Through Ada County’s emergency rental assistance funds, there is still money available for those who need it and qualify.
“We hope that people will recognize that, rather than sitting tight and counting on the moratorium, they would access the funds that we have available that are tied to COVID and the impacts that’s had on our entire communities and try to solve some problems that way,” Watson said.
You can find all of the information and what you need to apply for the rental assistance money here.
